Bete Rebellion: Ivory Coast 1970

[ 1970 ]

In November 1970, a leader, Gnagbé Niabé (also known as Gnabé Opadjelé) proclaimed himself grand chancellor of Côte d'Ivoire. When Houphouët-Boigny refused to accept Gnabé's candidacy for president or grant his request for a cabinet post, Gnabé gathered a large group of supporters and marched on Gagnoa. Again, government troops captured the rebel leader, ending the small rebellion...

Across the Bandama River, West Atlantic cultures are represented by Kru peoples, probably the oldest of Côte d'Ivoire's present-day ethnic groups. Traditional Kru societies were organized into villages relying on hunting and gathering for subsistence and descent groups tracing relationships through male forebears. They rarely formed centralized chiefdoms. The largest Kru population in Côte d'Ivoire is the Bété, who made up about 6 percent of the population in the 1980s.